Weft-tension means for looms.



PATENTED OCT. 1'7, 1905.

'H. s. FURMINGER. WEFT TENSION MEANS) FOR LOOMS.

PPPPPPPPPPPPP LED; BBQ-22'. 1902. V

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. FURMINGER, OF MITTINEAGUE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM H. MILLER, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSA- CHUSETTS.

WEFT-TENSION MEANS FOR LOOIVIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

Application filed December 22, 1902. Serial No. 136,169.

'To all, whom it may concern- Be it known that I, HENRY S. FURMINGER,

- a citizen of the United States, residing at Mittineague, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in VVeft-Tension Means for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in looms, and more especially to looms adapted to weaving of fabrics composed of relatively rigid or non-pliable warp and filler threads as, for example, wire-weaving looms. I

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby at the moment the fabric is beaten up by the movement of the lay-beam the filler-thread running to the shuttle may be grasped on the shuttle side of the fabric and carried forward against the previouslylaid filler-threads and at that point subjected to endwise tension at the moment of the beating-up operation, means being provided which will be described at the proper time whereby said filler-thread is released at or near the beginning of the backward movement of the laybeam.

In the drawings forming part of this application, Figure 1 is a perspective view of those portions of a loom to which my invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a detail view, in side elevation, of a part of the device for gripping the shuttle-shaft and showing means for releasing the thread.

Referring now to the drawings, a may in.- dicate a portion of the frame of the loom; b, the lay-beam; c, the shuttle; (Z, the pickerstaff, and c the reed. The lay-beam'to which the reeds are attached may be operated in any desired manner customary in looms of this class, and the same is true of the picker-staff.

In weaving fabrics composed of relatively non pliable threads, such as wire fabrics, great difliculty has been experienced in applying the proper tension to the shuttle-thread, or rather in getting a uniform tension, and to overcome this defect I provide means for gripping the shuttle-thread on each side of the fabric alternately, according to the location of the shuttle, and in applying lateral movements to this gripping mechanism away from the fabric just prior to the finish of the beatingup movement of the lay-beam, whereby each filler-thread may be drawn through the fabric under a uniform tension and held under tension during the beating-up action of the reeds.

This gripping mechanism is preferably carried on the lay-beam, asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and it consists, essentially, in a pair of tongs located transversely, of the lay-beam and below the upper surface thereof, whereby the movements of the shuttle will not be interfered with, said tongs being capable of swinging in a horizontal plane to a limited degree and being provided with automatic means for effecting the opening and closing movements thereof and also their laterallyswinging movements. These tongs are identical in construction, and a description of one will therefore sufiice. The upper member of the tongs is indicated by f and is in one piece. The lower member of the tongs consists of two jointed pieces 9 and 72,, which are pivotally united at a, the member it swinging on the member g. It will be observed that the member h is not pivoted to g by its extremity, but that said extremity (which is indicated by ,7') overlies the pivotal connection 2' thereof, to the end that when the outer end of the member it is depressed the inner extremity j thereof will raise the member f of the tongs. The memher it when depressed moves against the tension of a flat spring 76, whereby said member is normally held against the upper memberf. The piece g of thelower member of the tongs is pivotally supported on a post m, mounted on the end of the reed-frame, and the upper member f of the tongs is likewise pivotally supported on this post. A spring a is secured to the end of the member f, which projects beyond the post m and extends to the reed-frame or any other convenient point, whereby that end of the memberf in contact with the lower member h of the tongs may be pressed against the latter. It is thus seen that the members f and h are spring-pressed together, and it is between that part of these members which projects beyond the side of the lay-beam that the shuttle-thread is gripped between the side of the fabric and the shuttle and carried up to the battening-point of the fabric, at which point the tongs must be given a laterally-swinging movement away from the edge of the fabric to draw the shuttlethread through the warp under the requisite tension just before the beating-up operation. This necessitates of course some means like the spring-actuated tongs for gripping the shuttle-thread, for the reason that the shuttlethread is carried up to the battening-point on the fabric in advance of the reed, and therefore the shuttle-thread must slip through the tongs as the slack portion thereof is carried beyond the battening-point to permit the reed to reach the latter. However, the springpressed jaws of the tongs permit this sliding movement of the thread or wire therethrough without injury. For the purpose of imparting to the tongs the requisite lateral swinging movements to draw the thread through the warp under the proper tension a camplate 0 may be secured to the frame in any position where the forward end of the member h of the tongs will come in contact therewith and be forced laterally to one side by the advancing movement of the lay-beam. This lateral movement of the tongs takes place while they-are closed and are gripping the thread, the two members of the tongs swinging on the post m and being moved laterally against the tension of a spring p. On the cam-plate 0 is an upstanding arm from which there hangs a latch q, and on the upper side of the forward end of the member h of the tongs there is aprojection 9", which is adapted to swing under the latch Q freely during the advancing movement of the lay-beam; but upon the return movement of the laybeam the point of the latch will engage a shoulder behind the projection r, as shown in Fig. 4:, and thus cause the member h to be depressed, which, as heretofore described, will move the member f of the tongs upward and release the shuttle-thread. It is obvious that in order that the tongs may grasp the shuttle-thread the latter must be shot through between the jaws of the tongs. Means are therefore provided for opening these jaws upon the retracting movement of the lay-beam, and to effect this opening movement the end of the jaw f of the tongs is carried on beyond the post m to the rear and downwardly curved to constitute a cam-surface which is adapted to run in under a pin 8, secured to the frame of the machine in such position that the end of the memberfwill strike it upon the backward movement of the lay-beam and raise the forward end of the memberffar enough to permit the passage of the shuttle between it and the members g and [L of the lower jaw. Both of the tongs on the machine are similarly operated after each shuttle movement, each pair of tongs in turn catching the shuttle-thread, which may be indicated by t, and moving it up to the battening-point under endwise tension, as described.

On each end of the lay-beam there is provided the usual shuttle-box, consisting of the two side springs u and the arm 41, having an upturned outer end which serves as an abutment for the shuttle.

The picker-staff d is provided with a longitudinal opening w, whereby it may swing over the arm 1), the latter passing through said opening.

The shuttle c is of the usual construction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with the shuttle and lay-beam of a loom, of a device supported on the lay-beam and adapted to grasp the shuttle-thread between the fabric and the shuttle during the beating-up movement of the laybeam, and means supported on the frame of the machine and cooperating with said devices to impart lateral movement thereto away from the fabric, near the termination of said beating-up movement of the lay-beam.

2. The combination with the shuttle and lay-beam of the loom, of. a pair of tongs mounted on the lay-beam at each side of the fabric, means for opening and closing the jaws of the tongs during the beating-up movements of the lay-beam, and means to swing the tongs away from the fabric at or near the end of said beating-up movement.

3. The combination with the shuttle and lay-beam of a loom, of tongs supported on the lay-beam adapted to grasp the shuttle-thread between the fabric and the shuttle during the beating-up movement of the lay-beam, and a cam-plate secured to the machine in the path of movement of said tongs to swing the latter away from the fabric.

4a. The combination with the shuttle and lay-beam of a loom, of tongs supported on the lay-beam adapted to grasp the shuttle-thread between the fabric and the shuttle during the beating-up movement of the lay-beam, a camplate secured to the machine in the path of movement of said tongs to swing the latter away from the fabric, a trip-arm on the camplate adapted to engage one of the tong members whereby the tongs may be opened at the beginning of the rearward movement of the lay-beam to release the shuttle-thread.

5. The combination with the shuttle and lay-beam of a loom, of a pair of tongs mounted on the lay-beam, and means to effect the opening of the jaws of the tongs upon the backward swing of the lay-beam, whereby the shuttle may pass between said jaws, and a device to effect the closing of the jaws on the forward movement of the lay-beam, and mechanism to move said tongs laterally away from the fabric during said forward movement of the lay-beam.

HENRY S. FURMINGER.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CHAPIN, K. I. OLEMoNs. 

